Remember to Be Thankful!

I was just thinking, sometimes I forget to be thankful. As I press forward in this writing life, on my quest to…something, I’m not quite sure what, I often scold myself for being the age I am and not having reached that particular level of wealth and fame that other writers have.

After all, I’ve been at this a long time. I’ve been writing since my older sister went away to grade school (no kindergartens back then) and came back to draw letters on the wall to show me what she had learned. Now, I suppose you know that was a long, long time ago, and still I’m at it.

So sometimes I’m pretty unhappy with myself and my progress. Until I remember the old Korean saying that goes: “Never compare yourself to others; rather, compare yourself to who you were yesterday, to see if you are a better person.”

When I remember those words, I do indeed realize how far I’ve come and just how many successes I have under my belt:

I have one book in print
I have one book debuting this fall
I have one book debuting in the fall of 2014
I have three computers and one laptop
I have two printers
I have the internet (which makes research and writing a whole heck-of-a-lot easier than it was when I first started) 😀

With such a treasure at my disposal, what in the world do I need to complain about? It doesn’t matter that one of my computers is almost eleven years old, or that the ink for one of the printers costs more than my car payment.

The bottom line is, I’ve made progress. God has blessed me and moved me forward. He has given me tools to work with, fingers that can grip a pencil so I can write, and an over-active imagination that hasn’t let me down yet. For these things, I am eternally grateful.

So the next time you find yourself frowning or complaining because your writer-friend has just announced her thirtieth book, or because you still haven’t snagged a publisher after a decade of submissions, take a deep breath and think again.

Take a good look around. Count your blessings. Then and only then will you discover you have moved forward, and you’re much closer to success than you realized.

Hope this humble reminder helps you in your quest to become a best-seller!